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Thursday, May 12, 2016

It is never too late to be on
time. Chasing massive traffic and a dream to make commuting easier and cheaper,
a group of five spirited IIT-Roorkee graduates pushed the brakes on their cushy
jobs to turn the ignition on Pikup, a
unique peer-to-peer ride-sharing app that allows you to share empty seats in
your car with other travellers in exchange for money.

Launched early April, this Delhi-based startup has already traversed miles in
exploring the potential of this industry. In addition to giving people a
more environmentally-friendly option by correspondingly bringing down the
number of vehicles on the road, it also helps people reach their destinations
faster and in a more cost-effective manner by reducing the waiting period for a
cab or an auto by connecting you to a network of people who are driving on the
same route.

Punk my ride

"The rising middle class in a rapidly urbanising India are
increasingly opting to travel alone in their private cars since more often than
not, time is compromised when using public means of transport like buses,"
says Amit Bhasin, co-founder of Pikup. "People do realise the impact their
decisions are having on the environment but they feel helpless when faced with
few alternatives," he said.

Cab-pooling may be an option but apprehensions around it are not
difficult to comprehend. Despite being a public means of transport, people
largely treat cabs or autos as private vehicles and feel uneasy about sharing
it with people they don't know. Also, peer-to-peer ride sharing offered by
existing companies have also been unable to plug this loophole by failing to
make it more rider-friendly. Pikup's differentiation lies in building a safe
platform by creating a closed network of poolers and riders.

"Unlike other startups in this sector, our service is purely by
invite, creating a white-listed user base," says Juhi Mohan, part of the
marketing team at Pikup. "In addition to this, only an existing user can
grant a person entry into the system, further strengthening its safety
aspect," she adds.

Join the joyride

The app allows a person with seats to spare - be it in a car, an auto or
even a cab - to share his or her route online and connect with a person heading
the same way using various route-matching algorithms. Seekers can request a
ride and if accepted by the pooler, it will direct them to the 'pikup' point
determined by the app. Once the ride is complete, a cashless payment process is
initiated through Paytm, further making the process less cumbersome by avoiding
the hassle of change. The entire operation is quite elementary and allows a
convenient way of travelling.

"I have used Pikup thrice and the experience was wonderful each
time," says Rachit Saran, Senior Analyst at Everest Group. "The fact
that all riders in the system are verified in the sense that they went through
some process of filtering makes this network safe to communicate with."
Adds Naveen Malhotra, a Consultant at KPMG, "After shedding my initial
inhibition around carpooling, I came to realize how convenient this can be.
Coordination with regard to pick up points are also minimised since such points
are located by the app."

The prices are also transparent and listed on the app in the form of
rate cards that are fixed based on the distance covered. "This makes it
nearly 70 per cent cheaper than current cab and auto rates since it is immune
from surge pricing and other time-based charges," says Mohan.
"Moreover, it will also help ease the fuel bill of the person offering the
seat," she adds.

Too close for comfort?

Trust becomes the focal point that can make or break any carpooling
initiative. By creating a closed-knit group of users whose backgrounds are
verified on several grounds, the possibility of unpleasant encounters comes
down substantially, thereby fostering an atmosphere of mutual trust.

Elaborates Bhasin: "People who want to use Pikup are first asked to
verify their organisation affiliation by submitting their corporate email
addresses. This also makes it easier to track down individuals in case of any
untoward incident. Social media profiles also help users discover mutual
friends. It also comes in handy when running background checks, such as how old
the profile is, to make sure users are not creating fake accounts to sign up to
the system," he said.

The app also allows a female-only option that matches female riders with
seekers. There is also an SOS feature, where apart from your registered
contacts, Pikup will also receive a real-time update on a user's whereabouts
through SMS and call.

"The feedback we get from riders and poolers eventually reflect on
a user's trust score. People with negative feedback on a consistent basis are
then eliminated from the system," says Bhasin. "Unlike other service
providers in the industry, Pikup is a community effort of thousands of people
who themselves define the security and reliability of the system. We just try
to provide smart solutions to facilitate the same," he adds.

The app plugs the demand and supply gap between drivers and riders,
which is a common problem among online cab aggregators. It may be too early to
pass a verdict on its practicality, but it is nevertheless a humble start
towards getting people to do their part in curbing air pollution by minimising
traffic on the roads.

Cracks and potholes

Legal guidelines governing ride-sharing apps in India call for all cars
to have emergency buttons, in addition to running criminal background checks on
all drivers, along with maintaining 24/7 call centers. However, policy and
regulations for carpooling are not well defined.

Section 66 of the Motor Vehicles Act does not allow private car owners
to ferry passengers for monetary benefits, even though free carpooling is
encouraged. This means that price pooling or sharing of costs between riders
and poolers are authorized, but making a business out of the same may be
punishable by law. Apps overseeing this transaction also enjoy immunity from
the law as they are only charging a convenience fee for bringing the rider and
the pooler together and nothing more.

"Organized carpooling is yet to scale in India and hence may not be
getting adequate attention by policy makers," says Mohan. "However,
we do expect the government to come up with policies in the future that will
help us expand its scope and potential, while ensuring the interests of
consumers," she adds.

Today, peer-to-peer ride sharing cannot necessarily be called a novel
idea. The entry of global player BlaBlaCar about a decade ago became a major
milestone in this industry. Back home, a lot of startups are also racing to the
finish line including MeBuddie, PoolCircle and CarPoolAdda. Yet, Pikup is
running its own race.

"We are trying to create a closed trusted community of co-riders,
which is a landslide shift in the way the concept of ride-sharing has been
dealt with till now," says Mohan. "We believe that to achieve its
full potential, it is imperative to establish a culture around ride-sharing,
which we are trying to do at Pikup," she adds.

Popular cab aggregators are also exploring P2P ride-sharing with both
Uber and Ola toying with the idea. The enthusiasm in the space is palpable, but
the question that remains unanswered is who will lead that transition. Will
Pikup 'pick up' from where others have left off? Only time will tell.